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After peering at the Falcons 26-10 loss before Atlanta’s bye last week, one might believe the 49ers could win today’s game handily at home and here’s why:

-With first-round defensive tackle Peria Jerry out for the year, the Patriots mauled the Falcons front and veteran running back Fred Taylor romped for easy yardage.

-The Falcons are struggling at cornerback and might insert Tye Hill as the starter today after he was inactive for the first few games. The struggles became evident when Patriots quarterback Tom Brady missed at least four touchdown passes. The Falcons left the middle of the field wide open, particularly deep.

Former 49er Harvey Dahl has more dirty tricks than the Three Stooges.

-Defensively, New England limited the Falcons on first and second down by bottling up running back Michael Turner, and then they played coverage on third down and quarterback Matt Ryan couldn’t find an open receiver.

Of course the Pats have a better and more athletic offensive line so far than the 49ers. They also have Randy Moss, who constantly singed the Falcons secondary, and they have a veteran running back in Taylor who waited for his blocks. But the 49ers have a few things the Pats don’t, like that devastatingly fast defense, that might actually be better than New England’s at this stage.

What the 49ers can take from the New England game is the strategy to halt Turner in the early downs, get the Falcons in 3rd-and-more-than-5 and play coverage against young Matt Ryan. What they need to watch out for is Ryan and his rollouts, he’s terrific outside the pocket and the Falcons like to move him, which cuts down the field for him. This, however, plays in well in what the 49ers do, because San Francisco is so quick and they to like pursue.

When Ryan does pass, watch for the 49ers to play more zone, because Atlanta likes to bunch their receivers in greoups of two and three. By playing zone, the 49ers can avoid the basketball picks the receivers like to set for each other.

Of course, there’s always the looming figure of tight end Tony Gonzalez. But with the combination of Patrick Willis, Manny Lawson, Dashon Goldson and Michael Lewis, the 49ers should fear no tight end.

The team needs to be careful not to get into any peccadilloes with the Falcons chippy offensive line. Led by former 49er Harvey Dahl, the Falcons line is undersized and nasty and Dahl might be one of the dirtiest players in the league. For laughs, focus on Dahl and watch him put an elbow in someone’s back among his repetoirre of extracurriculars.

Also, If the Falcons see mismatches in the 49ers’ defense, watch for them to go with a no-huddle for part of the game.

Offensively, the 49ers went with a number bubble screens to their receivers last week against the Rams. Expect that to continue today, because of Atlanta’s propensity to play zone. Also, look for more inside zone blocking with double teams rather than a lot of traps and counters in the running game. The 49ers might want to go straight ahead at this Falcons’ front.

Joe Staley needs to get back to his excellent play at the end of last season. So far, this year, he’s given up a lot of pressures and he’ll be challenged by pass rusher John Abraham. Also take a look at the Falcons middle linebacker Curtis Lofton, a player the 49ers dearly wanted in the third round last year, but the Falcons picked just a few picks before the 49ers. Because the defensive line is porous, Lofton makes a lot of tackles down the field, but he’s really active and plays a tight zone coverage. While no one could argue with the play of Takeo Spikes, imagine how the younger Lofton would have fit in with Willis for the next five to seven years.